Iranian author sentenced to death for granting interview to Israeli TV station

A prominent Iranian writer, Mehdi Bahman, has been sentenced to death for granting an interview to an Israeli television station, Channel 13 in 2022.

Bahman was handed the death penalty on Monday by an Iranian Revolutionary Court which found him guilty of espionage for criticising the Islamic regime in Tehran and the “brutal imposition of Islamic law.”

In the interview, Bahman had called for the normalisation of the relationship between Israel and Iran, something the Iranian authorities said were against the government.

Read also:Award winning Iranian actress arrested for showing solidarity with man executed over protests

According to Iran International, Bahman, an author and talented illustrator who promoted religious harmony and tolerance, had been arrested and detained several times over his criticism of the regime.

“Most recently, he collaborated with the dissident Shia cleric Masoumi Tehrani to create works of art that included symbols from different religions and gave them to leaders of Iran’s minority Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, Sunni Islam, Mandaean Sabian, and Baha’i faiths,” Iran international said in a report.

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